I have a Remington 700, and it seems no matter how often I oil the bolt, it gets surface rust. I had the problem when I originally bought it, and when the recall came out, they said they would fix the finish on the bolt. I got it back and the finish on the bolt was spotty. Now I have to clean the rust and oil it constantly. I tried some Birchwood Casey cold blue thinking it would help, but no dice. Anyone have an idea for possible fixes? I don’t know if I have the money to take it somewhere to get redone at the moment, so any ideas are appreciated.
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Hey brother I don’t know if it will work on rust that’s already there or preventing it from rusting. But I wipe my firearms with this to prevent rust, hope it helps brother. Be blessed.
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I’ll try anything a few times. Thanks brother!
Hey brother I got some scratches on my polymer frames on my M&P and it’s probably expensive to do get them cerakoted. Any suggestions brother.
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You know they are carry guns and maybe I should not bother but I take care of my guns or maybe I’m just being anal.
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My 1911 has a parkerized finish and over time has gotten scratches. I have used black nail polish. If you look close you can tell, but not from a distance. Touch up the excess with alcohol… kinda like coloring the lettering, but with scratches.
Doesn’t work with the 700 bolt though. Clean all the rust away and use one of those methods, and it still rusts. I keep it in the safe with my other long guns, and none of the others has this problem 
It’s not that they won’t get scratches, but if you can keep up with them, i think it helps the rest of the finish. Don’t want rust spreading under the rest of the finish.
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Polish remover may damage the polymer, but i don’t know for sure.
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Question Levi, where is the 700 stored when you notice the rust?
I use Sig gun grease on bolts and such if it is being stored for a while. The reason for the question is now that it is humid keeping guns in a locked safe or vault will add to the rust problem. With the temp and humidity differential, rust can form almost immediately. In the summer months, I keep the safe door open slightly to equalize the temp. Hope this helps.
Good Luck
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I’ll assume here that your Rem 700 bolt is “in the white”, AKA not blued/Parkerized/coated/etc. Carbon steel in the white is subject to rusting oxidation/rusting as a matter of course, and usually a light coat of oil/CLP will slow or retard oxidation. Environmental conditions can accelerate oxidation, especially humidity and “salt air” near the ocean or other saline bodies of water. I had blued-steel duty revolvers when I worked near California’s Salton Sea, and I had to clean them with solvent and renew the oil 2X/week to prevent rust in that hot, humid, salty environment.
In the arid place I now live, humidity is minimal–so blued or white metal isn’t affected very much. If you are in a humid climate, a de-humidifier in your safe might help a bit. If your bolt has a “jeweled” surface (many do), that surface is meant to help retain oil/preservative.
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I do keep them in my safe with the other long guns. I do live in southeast Texas, so the humidity is ridiculous, but I have a dehumidifier in my safe. The bolt is finished with a really thin parkerized type finish, but shows rust through. I oil it once a weekish currently. I’ll clean and oil it up again and try leaving the door cracked a little.
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I do live about 15 minutes from the beach, but have never had this amount of trouble with rust before… It’s like this particular part is cursed 
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Thanks for y’all’s help. I appreciate it!
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What is the finish on the bolt? Is it the jeweled finish or the matte, almost like a parkerized but isn’t non-reflective finish? And where specifically is the rust forming? Is it on the bolt body where there is little contact with anything or in a high wear spot on the bolt?
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It’s the matte finish and it rusts on and behind the lugs, on the shaft in spots, on the handle, and behind the handle part over the back side of the firing pin
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I’ll definitely try that. I will probably be going to Houston this weekend. I’ll check at the dealers listed and see if they have that in stock!
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You are blessed my brother.
There is another product called Mil-Tech 1. It is a favorite among Soldiers back in the day. You put it on and heat it up with a blow dryer or in sunshine. You can also just shoot the gun too. The heat causes the Mil-Tech to bond with the steel at the molecular level. You do this two or three times. The metal will start to be lubricious and need less other lubricant if you choose.
It is a great product that I have used for a decade. Many of my warfighter friends swear by it. I treat any new firearm with it after I get it clean and before I shoot it the first time. Good luck to you sir.
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